Business group calls for sweeping tax reforms ahead of federal election as competitiveness worries deepen

Business Council of Canada CEO Goldy Hyder says U.S. fund managers are starting to perceive Canada as presenting a “sovereign risk.”Ryan Emberley/Postmedia/File

A business group representing 150 Canadian corporations calls for radical reforms before the federal elections, as concerns about competitiveness deepen. In this way, it has been lobbying federal officials to conduct a comprehensive review of the tax code, as part of a broader effort to renew awareness of Canada’s declining competitiveness before the impending federal election.

For his part, the director of the Business Council of Canada, Goldy Hyder, argues that a deep structural reform of the Canadian tax code could help unleash the economic potential of the country.

Likewise, Hyder, head of the Canadian Business Council, met with several cabinet ministers, opposition leaders, labor groups and others to discuss the potential for a deep and structural reform of the Canadian tax code, which in his opinion could help to unleash the economic potential of the country.

A controversial issue

Currently, business competitiveness has become a controversial issue. In fact, it was established as a general political issue in 2017, when Finance Minister Bill Morneau introduced controversial tax reforms that helped stoke fears in the private sector about an increasingly burdensome tax system in Canada. Those concerns, along with the extensive tax changes introduced by the US president. UU Donald Trump and commercial uncertainties caused Morneau to introduce a series of partial fiscal incentives aimed at giving a boost to the business community.

Even so, several executives and some politicians say that Ottawa must go much further to adequately address Canada’s declining business competitiveness. Since, in his opinion, it threatens the future of the Canadian economy.

That being the case, Goldy Hyder expressed, “There are things that are holding back the country, and we can continue to hit that ball in the field, but I understand that other countries are not doing that, they are advancing, they are very aggressive and very competitive”

It should be noted that he is not the only one to think like that. Since Hyder, among others, has proposed that Canada undergo a deep structural revision of the federal tax code to attract more capital and workers to the country.